lies and reasons, flames and shadows
by swiftfootede
Summary: this is still rifles and faerie dust ok, so i accidently removed it. sorry people. another year at hogwarts begins, hailing in a season of changes for everyone
1. rifles and faerie dust

Part 1  
  
The 2nd through 7th years were crammed into the Great Hall, Harry, Ron, and Hermione among them. They were in the first wave of students and sat near the middle of Gryffindor table, leaving enough room and the front for this year's set of 1st years. The three sat down, and for a moment there was silence among them. Harry looked at Ron. He was sitting at the table fiddling with his napkin and, for this first time since they're own Sorting, he wasn't complaining about hunger, hypothesizing about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, or talking in hushed tones about some conspiracy that had began over the summer. And just as quickly as he had realized there was something wrong with Ron, he realized what it was. Ron was no longer surrounded by his other siblings. His only older siblings to have yet to graduate from Hogwarts, Fred and George, were at the far end of the table, near the doors, and, as they had been all summer long, were leaning close together, huddled over order forms for their soon- to-be-a-reality joke shop. On the other end there was Ginny, now on her 4th year at Hogwarts, talking to her friends. For the first time in his whole life he was not overshadowed or protected by any of his siblings, and it was enough to make him fiddle with his napkins on his first day back at school. Trying desperately to think of something that would snap Ron out of his anxious state, he looked up to see the new first years, led by Professor McGonagall, heading towards the front of the Great Hall. It was then that he noticed.  
  
"Hey, where's Professor Snape?" said Hermione looking at the empty seat at the Professors' table.  
  
"Maybe they've finally sacked the old git!" said Ron, his nervousness replaced by a hopeful smile.  
  
"Forget Snape, where's Dumbledore?" Harry whispered, "He wouldn't just miss the Sorting."  
  
. .. .  
  
The door opened with a slight creak as Dumbledore entered Professor Snape's office. Snape was hunched over his desk, head in his hands. He didn't even make a move to hide the copy of Plato's Republic that lay exposed on his desk.  
  
"Severus." Dumbledore said in a voice different than the clipped tone he usually addressed Snape with. It was full of pity. Snape looked up.  
  
"I have done all you asked." he said, his wraspy voice unusually hoarse, ".all you asked. But I can't be out there. Not now." His eyes, for this first time in a very long time, searched Dumbledore's.  
  
"Your absence at the Sorting will only cause suspicion among the students. And you know very well how dangerous some of our students can become when they are suspicious." Snape paused, and after a moment nodded.  
  
"You're right. I wouldn't want that," and here he paused for just enough time to conjure up the right amount of invective, "Potter and his friends sticking their noses in where they don't belong." He nodded again, this time trying to convince himself. Dumbledore rose.  
  
"The Sorting is coming to a close, and I am no doubt required. Follow after me when you are ready," he turned to the door and Snape was up, right behind him.  
  
. .. .  
  
The Sorting was indeed coming to a close and the students at the end, who had, until now, been hidden by the rest of the first years, came into the view of the rest of the Great Hall. Harry heard the distinct and familiar sound of Draco Malfoy jabbing his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle.  
  
"Look," he hissed, motioning to the three women who stood at the end of the first year line. Ron and Hermione were looking as well, having just noticed the three along with the rest of the hall. Leading the three was a girl just a little taller than the 1st year she was standing behind, with long, mousy-brown hair in a ponytail down her neck. She was wearing a light brown leather hide jacket, blue jeans, and.moccasins? Just then a beam of sunlight caught a piece of metal on her back, highlighting what Harry thought was most out-of-place about her: the silver hunting rifle that was strapped on her back.  
  
"Dad had one of those once," Ron whispered, "Mom made him turn it over to the Ministry of Muggle Studies after Fred and George used it to try and get rid of the lawn gnomes." Harry's eyes widened as he pictured Fred and George chasing gnomes around the Weasleys backyard with a shotgun. Sure enough, Fred and George were pointing to the rifle, their eyes lit up. Hermione leaned forward.  
  
"We need to keep an eye on those two," she whispered in Harry's ear, "I don't even want to know what those two are capable of with a rifle," Harry nodded, eyes back on the three girls, this time on the second girl who, after having noticed the students' notice of her friends rifle, began polishing it with the cuff on her shirt. She was a little bit taller than her friend, with short, soft stubble for hair, large grey eyes and two elegantly pointed ears.  
  
"An elf!" Hermione exclaimed, her hand moving instinctively to the S.P.E.W. badge she had attached to her robes. Both Ron and Harry had forgotten theirs in a small, controlled fire.  
  
"She's really tall for an elf." Ron said doubtfully. Harry tuned out the fight that he was sure was going to begin at any moment, looking on at the 3rd girl. She was the tallest of them all, from the looks of it even taller than Fred and George, with shoulder-length shaggy black hair, green eyes, and slender pointed ears. Her hair shimmered with flecks of pastel pink.  
  
"No, you dunderheads. That's a faerie. My Dad says that faeries are magic in its purest form," he heard Draco telling Crabbe and Goyle. There certainly seemed to be something magic about her, for the staff that she had strapped to her back was touching the side of the Gryffindor table, where a branch was beginning to grow.  
  
The last name was called and the last 1st year joined her house. Dumbledore was standing in front of the professors' table, apparently reading to give his first-of-the-year speech. Harry looked to see Professor Snape, right where he should be. He was looking at the three girls with a strange look on his face. At that moment he caught Harry staring at him out of the corner of his eye and turned his gaze upon him, looking particulary murderous.  
  
"As I am sure you have all by now noticed," Dumbledore began, the room quieting, "the Sorting is not yet complete. This summer I extended an invitation to the Flizlethorpe School of Magic to send some of its students here to join us for a term here at Hogwarts. With Lord Voldemort beginning again his rise to power," the mention of the Dark Lord sent a murmur through the crowd, "I'm sure that we would all benefit from the magical knowledge that they will provide. The Hat will sort them into their houses and they will take their place among the 5th years of that House." He turned to Professor McGonagall, who on cue read the next name on the scroll.  
  
"Elokin of the Swift Feet," The girl with the rifle and the elf pushed the faerie in front of them. Her green eyes wide, she sat upon the stool and the Hat was placed upon her head.  
  
"A faErie!" the Hat bellowed, accentuating the words at odd points, as it was prone to do. The girl jumped, almost falling off the stool. "But not a stranger to Hogwarts, I see. Yes, it's all here. Both parents were from Hogwarts. both from different houses.a difficult choice." Harry looked up to see Snape muttering something, staring intently at the faerie. The hair on the back of his neck was bristled. Was he casting a spell on her?. ".Ah Well. It'd be a pity if you ended up like him anyway. GRYFFINDOR!!!!" The Gryffindor table erupted in applause, and several of them motioned for her to join them. She took a seat next to Seamus Finnigan.  
  
"Hatashinae Tsukiko," McGonagall called and the elf stepped up to the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on her head.  
  
"A sylvan elf, eh. or are you? Hiding what you are, using your CLEverness to stay out of trouble. there's one house that values THAt! RAVENCLAW!!!!!" The Ravenclaws jumped to their feet, motioning the girl over.  
  
"Chris Manebreeze," The 3rd girl mounted the stool and the Hat was placed on her head.  
  
"Ah, a hard worker. staying up when others sleep. learning what isn't required. I've got just the place for you.HUFFLEPUFF!!!!" The Hufflepuffs practically exploded with applause and several came up to lead her to their table. They're probably happy to have gotten one, Harry thought. He could see who wasn't happy, though. The Slytherins looked out-for-blood, preferably Gryffindor.  
  
"I do have a few notices before we begin the feast. Quidditch matches will begin again on schedule, so you had better start practicing. Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students, and only 3rd years and up with permission forms are allowed to go to Hogsmeade for off-campus visits. Also, the field just before the lake will be being excavated by a team of archeologists and it is therefore off-limits as well. That seems to be it. Dig in," Food appeared at the tables and students began to eat. 


	2. the unthinkable happens, the uninteligab...

Part 2  
  
".can be very dangerous if used on the wrong person, simply because its effects were permanent. It was for this reason that a companion potion formula was created that would have the same effects as the original, but that would only last for a few days. Who can tell me what modifications to the original potion would have to be made for such a change?" Professor Snape stopped mid-pace, eyeing the room, almost daring anyone to raise their hands. It was the first day of potions for the new year and, as always, Gryffindor was stuck with  
  
Slytherin. Ron sat up straight, trying to look as awake, informed, and invisible as possible. There was a silence. Snape must have just asked a question, Ron thought, and he assumed the question position: sitting up, eyes down, staring intently at whatever book is in front of you. He knew that if he stayed this way long enough Snape would either call on Hermione, because she was waving her hand annoyingly, or Harry, because Snape was just mean like that. More silence. Ron broke the code and looked up. His eyes widened. Hermione's hand was not raised. Everyone seemed to have noticed, and the whole class was staring at her in surprise. The only person who didn't seem surprised was Snape. He was smiling.  
  
".I didn't think so. For the past four years I have taught you the how of potions. This year I am going to teach you the why. Its not something you can learn from a book, from late nights of memorization, or even," he stopped mid-thought, glaring. Ron looked beside him and had to restrain a gasp of horror. Elokin, the faerie who just a few days ago had been sorted into  
  
Gryffindor house, was raising her hand. Didn't someone tell her that noone answers Snape unless he asks you to, and sometimes not even then? he thought.  
  
Mentally he went over all the times she could have been informed: in the common room after the sorting no, she went to her dormitory while all the others were giving advice and welcoming the new 1st years, and breakfast no, she hadn't eaten with the rest of the 5ths before class. He mentally cursed the Gryffindor girls for being so irresponsible. They could have told her any time and now look, she was in her ignorance giving Snape an opening to take points from Gryffindor, one of his favorite past-times. The Slytherins were beaming. Snape's lip curled.  
  
"Does are resident exchange student have something to say?" he said in an even tone, which for him was a shocking lack of invective. She nodded.  
  
"To decrease the time length for any potion you take out the infinite, in this case, um," she shuffled through her book, "wormwood, and you and in a partial in the amount which would give the time you want, in this case," she paused here, saying something under her breath, "three-day old rosemary seeds." You could have dropped a feather in the room it was so silent. Even the Slytherins were shocked speechless.  
  
"He must have expected noone to answer," Hermione whispered.  
  
"Yeah, because he's always giving us the questions that noone could possibly ever know, except for weirdoes like him," whispered Ron.  
  
"Five points from Gryffindor for the whispering of Weasley and Granger," he said out of hand, "and five points to Gryffindor for at least one person who studies beyond what is required," The response was no less than utter silence, the utter being added to distinguish this silence from the previous two. Snape had never in the four years that Ron, Harry, and Hermione had been at Hogwarts given points to Gryffindor. He was very House loyal, a point which had reached its extreme last year when he completely ignored Hermione's beaver-sized teeth to avoid taking points from Malfoy. The students were staring at him in disbelief. He, however, seemed to be enjoying the silence.  
  
"As I was saying, the reasons behind the construction of potions are very complex, very intuitive, and will take all of your time and attention to master, for those of you who have the capacity," he eyed Hermione, who seemed herself particularly disturbed. The door swung open, surprising the class. After four years at Hogwarts, even those from Muggle families should have been used to the bell-less school, where a simple opening of the door signaled the end of the class, but almost every student gasped. This made the Professor smile. He always liked when his classes ended with an expression of communal fear.  
  
"For the next class I expect each of you to attempt to remake veritaserum so that the person tells truths in limericks," he said, and each student got up warily and began filing out of the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who had been making a beeline towards Elokin, stopped when they saw who was talking to her.  
  
"With the education and power you already have, I think you are going to find it stifling in Gryffindor. I don't know why the Hat put you there, it was obviously a mistake. But don't worry; you can hang out with us. Mistakes happen and we won't hold that against you,"  
  
"You would think that after four years he would have found a new opening line," Ron said as the three came up. Malfoy shot him a look.  
  
"I don't recall inviting you into this conversation, but while you're here I've been meaning to ask, are you really shrinking, or is it that Fred and George are running out of hand-me-downs so now your having to use your father's? It would explain why he hasn't been in the news lately. Too embarrassed to go outside, I should think." Hermione instinctively grabbed Ron's arms, but he gave no indication of moving. Elokin flinched.  
  
"You're a animus wizard," she said, awe reflecting in her voice. Ron looked confused.  
  
"I am? Is that a good thing?" she nodded emphatically.  
  
"It means that most of your magical power comes from within, from your emotions. It marks a very powerful wizard, and a very dangerous one," Ron beamed with pride. He wasn't used to being the powerful one, or even the one who got any attention. Draco perked up.  
  
"What about me? What type of wizard am I? Surely something powerful if even a Weasley can have some power." he mused. She looked away.  
  
"You're all black. I can't see through it," she said, but it looked to Ron like she didn't want to try. Hermione realized that this would be a good time for a change in the conversation.  
  
"Hey, you're taking Arithmancy, aren't you? We had better go, so we aren't late to class," she said, taking Elokin by the arm and leading her down the hall. When they turned the corner, Elokin stopped her.  
  
"I'm not taking Arithmancy. I'm horrible at math stuff."  
  
"Yes, but they don't know that. I do have to go to class, but if you go back to the common room, you're bound to run into Ron and Harry. They're lightweights, taking as little as possible. And try to stay away from Malfoy.  
  
He's bad news," she said, rushing up a flight of stairs.  
  
. .. .  
  
Professor McGonagall's tail twitched on her desk. She had been sitting for about half an hour waiting for Neville Longbotton to finish transmogrifying a vase into a duck. All of the other students had long ago went back to their dormitories, and she hated making him stay, but it was his 5th year and he still hadn't gotten inanimate-animate transmogrification (and vice versa) down. That's partly why she had turned into her cat form. She could see that her presence was making him nervous, so she turned hoping that a cat would be a little less intimidating. Neville seemed a little less nervous, and his vase had begun to for feet, but it always took him several tries to change anything into more of what it should be than what it was and it was time he progressed. She stretched, and thinking that a little can walk couldn't be too bad and that perhaps he would do better if alone, she jumped from the table and strolled leisurely out of the room. She began to walk the halls, always amazed at how tall things were when she was a cat. The paintings all greeted her with the appropriate amount of respect (there was no fooling them) and in some way she was displeased. It was then that she noticed the other cat. She loved meeting other cats, talking with them. Cats, in her opinion, were the wisest and most well traveled of creatures. The cat, upon seeing her, padded up to her. She could see the cat was straining for air.  
  
"You are the professor?" the cat purred, shaking, though McGonagall couldn't see why she would be afraid.  
  
"Yes. Are you in trouble?" the cat looked around, then leaned in.  
  
"Tell Snape that our friend has visitors" the cat purred, almost inaudibly. She then straightened, turned, and scurried away. Without questioning or hesitation (she had learned from years of experience that cats were often more trustworthy than humans) she hurried to Professor Snape's office. He was sitting at his desk, looking at an old photo album. His eyes were wide and revealing, glittering like two lakes in the moonlight. He looked up and immediately slammed the book.  
  
"Professor," he said, standing. Snape always accorded her with respect, just as much as Dumbledore, and with as much reason. She turned, and dusting off her robes looked at him.  
  
"A cat told me to tell you that your mutual friend has visitors." She didn't ask for a reason for this cryptic message. Snape rushed out of his office, hand out, indicating that she follow him.  
  
. .. .  
  
"Can you make the pawn kill the knight?" Elokin leaned over, fascinated by Ron and Harry's game of wizard chess. It was less of a game now, more like a bash-to-blows grunge match, as Harry and Ron made the pieces move as Elokin asked, watching the awed expression she made every time they moved as the boys requested.  
  
"What did you mean, earlier in the hall? That animus wizard stuff?" Ron said, a question he had been building up to ever since Elokin sat down with them in the common room.  
  
"An animus wizard's base of power is their emotions, like I said. You get the most magical energy when you are in an intense emotional state, like anger or fear. That's why it's good, and why it's dangerous." He nodded. That made sense to him.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Well, you flared up, didn't you, when you were mad at that boy,"  
  
"Malfoy," Harry added, hoping if she learned his name she would learn to avoid him. Though she seemed to see through him, he was acting very nice around her and Harry didn't want to see her get hurt. She had gotten Gryffindor points, and that couldn't be bad, and from Snape no less.  
  
"He's the son of Lucius Malfoy?" both nodded. She looked off for a moment, as if that was something to think about.  
  
"I still can't believe that we got points from Snape!" Ron exclaimed, "You must be the best of your school to be sent here and to get points from Snape," he mused.  
  
"Oh no," she shook her head immediately, "I'm no where near the best. The best are scary though, the mages of pure thought. They could cast just with a look. I don't think that's what the Potions Master wanted when he came to see us,"  
  
"The Potions Master? You mean Snape? I thought Dumbledore extended the invitation?" Harry said, remembering what Dumdledore had said during the first dinner.  
  
"He did, but he couldn't come to Faerie himself to extend the invitation. An outsider coming to Faerie is a lot like a vampire coming into a person's home. It can happen, but only by invitation. But once you get an invitation, you can go whenever you want."  
  
"So Snape had an invitation, but Dumbledore didn't?" Harry said, sounding confused.  
  
"Yeah, if I had a Snape-free world, I wouldn't give it up for ANYTHING!" said Ron. Elokin shrugged.  
  
"He doesn't seem that bad..."  
  
"That's cause he gave you points. You haven't seen the worst of it yet. I was so sure that when you raised your hand that he was going to chew you out," said Ron, who would have gone on about Snape's nastiness had Fred and  
  
George not walked up.  
  
"Hey, you friends with that girl with the rifle!" Fred said, taking a seat next to Elokin. Ron rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, Fred, way to start a conversation," Ron had been sour at them ever since they got to Hogwarts. Fred ignored him.  
  
"You mean Chris?" The two nodded, having obviously learned as much as they could about her without actually talking to her. "She got it from a shaman after having lived in his village for a year. That's where she got most of her early training," The twins looked confused.  
  
"Why would a shaman have a rifle?" George asked. The two knew a fair amount of stuff about the shamanic practice, having been fascinated by their ability to affect events within out-of-body experiences.  
  
"He took it from a trader and modified it so that it would shoot bullets filled with whatever mixture he wanted. It really does come in handy sometimes..."  
  
"I can see why!" the twins said in unison, looking excited. They rushed out of the common room without even bothering to cay goodbye.  
  
"Don't mind them. They've been rude all summer." Ron said, staring intently at the chessboard. Harry tried to change the subject quickly by putting Ron's Queen in danger.  
  
"That was a stupid move! And there are times when I think that I'm helping you get better. Really, Harry. Knight to E5," 


	3. yummy, warm, and sweet

ok, just a bit of explanation before I get into this new chapter. I uploaded the unfinished version of the last part, so theres more so GO BACK AND READ IT!!!! And iphi, im sorry your notes keep getting erased b/c of my carelessness, as well as the notes for the illustrious severa and any others who had left some that I didn't get a chance to see. Enjoy!  
  
Part 3  
  
All of the Professors had gathered into Dumbledore's office for the "emergency meetings" that had begun to take on a normal bi-weekly schedule. Had Snape's message not been the reason for this one he would have been more composed; as it was, he was struggling not to lapse into the excessive tapping on his chair that drew annoyed looks from McGonagall. Dumbledore walked in, late as usual (his excuse being that he never wanted to wait for others to arrive to begin so he always made sure his entrances were after everyone else's). He began as he walked to his desk.  
  
"I have just heard from one of my sources that Voldemort," Snape and McGonagall were the only teachers who could keep from flinching, "has sent envoys to consult with Erichtho," Again, Snape and McGonagall were the only two who seemed able to restrain themselves. The others each made their own personal noises of shock and disbelief. Dumbledore, however, continued, "This action shows that he is being more careful this time, hopefully giving us more time to prepare as well. As for our preparations, I have as of yet not been able to convince the Ministry that Voldemort has returned, though some have taken up with our side and have temporarily abandoned their posts. As for the emissaries we sent, Hagrid and Madame Maxime have not yet sent word on their progress, though this isn't necessarily a bad sign. I encourage you all to be on alert, and to make absolutely sure that your students are mastering all the necessary skills. I see that some of you have changed your lesson plans to this end; I am appreciative. Those students may well be the only defense we have," That statement, which Dumbledore had been ending every meeting with since the first meeting after the students left for break, signaled the end, and the Professors began to rise. Snape rushed out with almost unseemly haste.  
  
. .. .  
  
"Are they usually late for breakfast?" Elokin asked, taking a seat next to Hermione, one of her first newly made friends.  
  
"Yes, they're horrible in the morning. They sleep late, sometimes even are late to their first class!" She had to restrain a grin at the human's enthusiasm. At least it was better than talking about the.  
  
".house elves that make this food, I'm surprised you can even eat it!" She sighed. It was time she confronted this.  
  
"You know they like what they do, don't you?" Hermione's eyes widened.  
  
"I can't believe you, of all people, would say that! You, who come from a place where elves are free, who have an elf for a friend, who know how they are treated."  
  
"I didn't say they like how they are treated. I said they like what they do. And they do, so much so that they would leave their homeland and come here, where they are treated horribly, just to continue their chosen profession. Your heart's in the right place, but you're going about it all wrong. You keep proposing that the elves do things that would jeopardize their positions, when what you should be working toward is making those positions better for them. Don't demand the elves do things, because they know that if they stand up, they will be fired and another will happily take their place. Demand that the employers do something," Hermione sat, seeming to take in what Elokin was saying.  
  
"You mean the love serving others that much!" Elokin nodded. "Well, there have been campaigns for work-rights before. I'll have to do research on that over the break." At this, Elokin's eyes darkened. Hermione, who in just a few days had become very perceptive of her new friend's moods, stopped.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Elokin shook her head. "I just have to stay over the break and my friends are going to leave. I thought maybe someone was going to stay." Hermione perked up.  
  
"Harry and Ron are! They always stay over. Don't worry; you'll have loads of fun. They always go on their best adventures while I'm. gone." Hermione slowed, getting that for the first time. They were interrupted by the entrance of the owls.  
  
"Mail's here," Hermione said, a copy of the Daily Prophet dropping into her hands. At the Ravenclaw table, Tsukiko had begun screeching and several of the owls flocked over to her, wanting some pleasant conversation after their long journeys. A shining black owl caught Elokin's eye.  
  
"That's the Malfoys' owl," Hermione explained, "It comes almost every day to give Draco something. That family is so cruel to their house-elves, it breaks my." she was stopped as the owl swooped above them and dropped a package in Elokin's lap. It was a red tin with a green card tied to the front. Curious, Elokin gingerly opened the envelope and read the card. Her eyes widened, filling with tears.  
  
"No.not here too." She got up quickly and ran out of the Great Hall. Hermione got up to follow, but true to her namesake, she was quite swift. She picked up the card and read it, then set it down just as quickly. It was at that moment that Harry and Ron arrived.  
  
"Was Elokin ok? She ran right past us," Harry said. He noticed the card. "Was it something she got in the post?" Hermione nodded. She began to put the letter and the tin in her bag.  
  
"Wait, what was it? Why are you taking it?" Ron said, grabbing for the note.  
  
"So no one else reads it. It was very personal,"  
  
"You read it!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Just enough to see what the problem was. Now lets get out of here before."  
  
"I don't think that was meant for you, Granger. In fact, I am certain you are the last person who was meant to read it." Draco Malfoy loomed over them, glaring at Hermione.  
  
"You. you." she could barely keep her anger in check, and for a brief moment Malfoy thanked something Holy that she wasn't what Elokin had called an animus wizard. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the Hall, in a gesture that dared anyone to follow her.  
  
. .. .  
  
Snape hurried back to his office with long, sweeping strides. He flung open his door, then bolted it shut. It was then that he realized that his door had been partially open before he came in. He took out his wand, walking slowly through his office and through the open door which separated it from his living space (the second of the two rooms allotted to all Hogwarts teaching staff). From his bedroom, he had a clear view to the bathroom, whose door was also open. He walked in to see the faerie girl.  
  
.lying on the tile floor next to the toilet, still with exhaustion. "How did she get here?" he whispered, looking up at Moaning Myrtle, whose transparent eyes were filling with ghost tears. "She was sad," the ghost whispered in reply, her voice of one who was in too much pain to make a scene of bursting into tears. He bent down and.  
  
.touched her face. Elokin made a slight noise, and he realized how cold his hands must be, or at lest, how warm her face was. He thought for a moment about taking her to the Hospital Wing, then, realizing Madame Pomfrey couldn't possibly know more about this than he did, he gently picked up the exhausted faerie, carrying her to his bed. He went back into his office, this time taking two jars of herbs from his cabinet. None of his jars were labeled (for he had no need of labels, and anyone who did didn't belong in his office), the first holding a few slender, dried green pods, the second a mass of dried brown beans. He filled a beaker with an opaque white fluid and began to grind the beans into a powder, which, when put in with the simmering liquid, made it turn a deep brown. With a scalpel he sliced open the green pods revealing sticky black seeds, which he proceeded to add. In next was a cupful of crystalline powder, at which point the concoction began to steam. He raised his wand, and muttering a few words under his breath, the beaker rose and poured its contents into a wooden cup. At that moment, he heard the distinct sounds of waking from a less-than-desired rest. With the cup in hand, he went back into his bedroom, where a disoriented Elokin was raising her head. She looked at him with alarm.  
  
"How did I get he. oh," she said, memory coming back to her, "I'm sorry.so sorry." she began to try and get up, failed, and rested her head on the headboard. "I didn't know this was your place. it felt safe. I thought maybe Professor McGonagall or Fletwick."  
  
"I am as safe as they," he said, offering her the cup. She drank a little, her face squinched in anticipation of the concoction. After the first sip her eyes widened.  
  
"It's sweet," she murmured in surprise.  
  
"Hot chocolate," he said simply. She drank down the rest, her body filling with warmth. It was all coming back to her now.  
  
"This wouldn't be happening to me if I were a proper faerie." she muttered, now angry. Snape's head shot up.  
  
"Explain," he said in a tone harsher than he would have chosen had he responded a little less quickly. She didn't seem to notice.  
  
"If I weren't half-faerie, so many people wouldn't be after me to.They all seem to think 'Her mother chose a human, so why shouldn't she chose from outside her race." He nodded in understanding.  
  
"I think it is more your public status, away from your homeland, than your birth that makes you a target," he said quietly. She shook her head.  
  
"No. It happens at home too. I can't go home for the solstice because of all the people who have been bugging Auntie Vicky," His ears perked up at the name, then he nodded to himself.  
  
"You are having problems here at school as well? Tell me who and I assure you they won't bother you again." It seemed at that moment that she realized she was talking to a teacher. She shook her head.  
  
"I'm late for your class," she whispered. Without a word, he helped her up and they walked together in silence.  
  
sorry about the copious description. The next part will be more action packed, I assure you, so keep reading! 


	4. a troll, a dragon, and a mystery. hogwar...

this is the action packed part I promised. It's a little long, but I hope that you won't notice. Also, I am not just overly obsessed w/ ad&d, it does have relevance. And, the faerie (elokin) reflected in the story follows the ad&d parameters for a faerie (w/ all the ad&d powers) and in no way reflects my personal belief in the nature of the wee ones. (  
  
1 Part 4  
  
Elokin pointed her wand at a feather.  
  
" Vengardium Leviousa!" The feather didn't even twitch. A new wrinkle found its way into Elokin's brow. Harry sat beside her, looking on and regretting that he couldn't help in some substantial way. At the moment, he was just moral support. Ron and Hermione were outside of the library, having been kicked out for the loud argument that had yet to find its end. Ever since the day Elokin had received that package from Draco Malfoy, Ron had been bitter with Hermione because she wouldn't let him see the note that had come with it. Right after Potions that day, Hermione tried to give the note back to Elokin, at which point she had promptly run to the nearest lavatory and thrown up. And ever since that day, they were careful not to leave Elokin alone outside the common room. It seemed Malfoy had gotten a hold of his own copy of the Marauder's Map, for that was the only way he could have followed Elokin's movements so closely. And to top it off, Chris and Tsukiko were about to leave for the holidays, leaving Elokin alone at Hogwarts for the first time. The three of them tried to stress their friendship w/ Elokin as much as possible, but Hermione, who she had gotten closest to, was about to leave for home as well. The only thing that seemed to keep her mind off things was trying to master wand spellcasting.  
  
"I don't understand why I have to use this stupid thing! Why does everyone here assume that this is the only way to do magic?!? Magic doesn't necessarily participate in pointing-stick-and-muttering-arcane-latin- ness!!!!!!" Some other students turned, and she sank back into her chair, embarrassed. Hermione and Ron came and sat down, Ron looking particularly ruffled.  
  
"Wanna play a game of wizard's chess, Harry?"  
  
"I know of a better game," All four turned to see Tsukiko, standing behind them looking somewhat triumphant. She thrust into Elokin's arms a badly wrapped rectangular gift. "Go on! Open it! Its from me and Dad!" She watched intently as Elokin carefully unwrapped the gift. Her face shone.  
  
"Tsukiko-chan!!!" she exclaimed, "How long have you spent making this?!?"  
  
"I started when Dad wrote that there was no way I was going to be able to stay. It's good. I had Hunter help." Elokin took out the bound pages, holding them so that none of the others could see.  
  
"Lets play now, before you leave!"  
  
"Did you even look at it?!? Its days long! It'll take you guys forever to finish it!" Elokin peeked inside for the first time, and her smile grew.  
  
"I had better prepare," she said with a fiendish look, getting up and walking out of the library, Tsukiko in tow.  
  
. .. .  
  
Elokin had been hold-up in the girls' dormitory for three days, and the vultures were starting to smell mischief; Fred and George had been hanging out with Ron and Harry since the students left for home. This holiday break was unique in that half of the Slytherin house had stayed instead of went home to their families. Harry and Ron were sure that it was because their parents were busy with Lord Voldemort's bidding, but neither of them let this opinion slip outside of the Gryffindor common room. After lunch on the third day, Elokin came out. She was radiating energy, so much that Harry and Ron's ears were ringing.  
  
"Do you guys want to play? Did Tsukiko explain the game?"  
  
"No! She wouldn't ell us anything! And why haven't you come out in three days!?!" exclaimed Ron, whose face was slightly red.  
  
"They made the game really extensive, with lost of monsters and challenges. I couldn't have done it all without preparing first."  
  
"Monsters!"  
  
"Challenges?" Fred and George chimed in, ears perked up; this sounded like their kind or game.  
  
"Haven't you guys played AD&D before?" All four of them shook their heads. "Ok, the first thing you need to do is pick out a character. You an be any race, any class," she looked at Fred and George, "within reason. Then I start you out on the quest. I'm the dm, so you won't see me, but I'll be giving you instructions and creating the obstacles you encounter."  
  
"What do you mean, creating?" said Harry.  
  
"I'm a faerie. One of my inherent abilities is creating visual and auditory illusions. The only problem is, I can't hold them for a long time normally. That's why I had to stay away for awhile, to build up my energy reserves." The four of them didn't care anymore the reasons behind it; they were too busy coming up with characters.  
  
"Dragon!"  
  
"Giant!"  
  
"Ferret-riding gully dwarf!" Elokin pulled out a book labeled Character Making for the Beginning Player and tossed it on the table.  
  
About two hours later they were all ready to play. Ron was a human knight, Fred a gnome, George a Kender handler, and Harry a human wizard (hey, some people just love it). They followed Elokin to the staircases, where she disappeared.  
  
"Good luck!" her voice echoed down the staircases. The three, grinning widely, began to make their way up the staircases, completely oblivious to the footsteps running the opposite way.  
  
. .. .  
  
The ravenous beaver-toothed imps charged towards them, bellowing their war cry. The mechanical cantrip creature (an invention of Fred's) cantered up to the leader of the beasts, stopped, then began to fume and spark.  
  
"Its not gonna go! Run for it!" Fred cried, and the entire party turned tail and began to sprint down the corridor, save for George, who was, true to his Kender character, admiring them.  
  
"Darnnit! He's going to make us fight again! Stop being so true to your character!" Ron shouted, turning around and drawing his sword. What insued was truly a battle of epic proportions; Ron swinging his sword like he could actually hold it up without toppling over, Harry blasting out mammoth fireballs, Fred stabbing with his short-sword, and George flying through the air, bellowing, and banging imps on the head with his hoopak. They (amazingly) beat back the imps and began collecting the gold and weaponry the imps had left behind. George was snatching things up with amazing speed.  
  
"Let off! You don't get it all! You're the reason we had to fight those things in the first place!" Ron pushed George aside. He was promptly bitten on the butt by a mechanical cantrip creature with over-sized jaws. "Fred!"  
  
"That's Fredamulicousnitartchulnicesma..." Fred began, obviously glad to have gotten the opening. All of them groaned, even normally-able-to- tolerate-Fred George.  
  
"We're never going to get anywhere if you don't lay off it," he said, elbowing his twin in the stomach.  
  
"Its my name! You guys get to say your whole name, so you're just going to have to wait until I'm done. Meepoliciousyawer..." Then, as if by clock- work, another monster appeared to move them along, this time a large mountain troll. Both Harry and Ron flinched. They both readied their weapons.  
  
"Hey, you guys." They jumped. They should have been used to hearing Elokin's voice out of nowhere by now, seeing as they hadn't actually seen her since the game began. Or maybe it was the worry/fear in her voice.  
  
"Yeah?" Harry said, leveling his wand at the troll.  
  
"Um.I don't know how to tell you guys this.its never happened before, I swear!." Now they all were listening.  
  
"What's 'never happened before you swear'?" Fred said, that phrase being to familiar for comfort.  
  
"Um.I didn't make that," No pointing was needed. The troll itself, however, was acting very un-troll-like. It was standing still, as if it was.thinking?!? It turned its head, looking next to Ron. "Um, now it's looking at me," she whispered, the anxiety in her voice multiplied. It was only interrupted by the twin cries of Fred and George, who had begun running down the corridor in a state of panic. The rest followed suit. At the end of the corridor, however, they beheld a sight far more terrifying.  
  
"Stop right there, Potter!" Professor Snape yelled, with Draco Malfoy by his side. For the first time in his career at Hogwarts, Harry blatantly defied Snape running right past him, motioning as he ran. Snape didn't need the motioning, his eyes widening as the troll came into view. The troll came to a sudden stop, though not because of Professor Snape. All four of the Gryffindors stopped and turned.  
  
"Why did it stop?" Draco said in a whiny, fearful voice.  
  
"Because I stopped," Elokin whispered, though the corridor was quiet enough to that everyone could hear it. The only consistent sound was that of the troll's labored breathing.  
  
"Elokin?" Professor Snape whispered, his eyes widening in understanding. "Don't move," he said, drawing his wand. His head bent low as he began an incantation, then shot up again, as did everyone else's. "What was that?" he said, feeling the surge of energy. Behind the troll, a shadow played on the walls of the adjacent corridor. The troll sniffed the air, then turned in one semi-smooth spin, as a head emerged from around the corner of the corridor. The head and neck of a massive, horned, purple dragon rose into the air, its burning red eyes focused on the troll. It opened its mouth to, presumably, shoot flames at the troll, when it made them unnecessary; the troll collapsed onto the ground, having blacked-out it fear. The dragon turned, looking at a now visible Elokin, hovering in the air like a hummingbird, held up by huge, iridescent wings. It turned and its shadow disappeared down the corridor. All were staring now at Elokin, who was beginning to waver in the air. Her wings stopped beating and she began to plummet side-first downward. Snape rushed up and caught her just before she hit the floor. Her lips and fingertips were a bluish tint.  
  
"She's tapped out!" Malfoy whispered, and all the others shared in his awe. All except Harry.  
  
"Huh?" This seemed to snap Snape out of the awe-fest.  
  
"50 points from Gryffindor! Get back to your quarters!" He bellowed, heading for the hospital wing.  
  
. .. .  
  
As soon as they could escape their quarters the next morning, all four were at the hospital wing, much to Madame Pomfrey's dismay.  
  
"No, you can't see her! Yes, I know what happened! She needs her rest!" she roared, making shooing motions at the four Gryffindors.  
  
"I think you would be more successful, Poppy dear, if you let them see her for just a moment. I'm sure they wouldn't disturb her," came Dumbledore's reassuring voice from behind Ron, who was by far the loudest of the four. Without another word, Madame Pomfrey nodded, drew open the curtains, and withdrew, leaving the four plus Dumbledore alone with a sleeping Elokin. She was curled up under the blankets and looked as if she were merely sleeping, with no signs of the previous day's melee. Her lips and fingertips had returned to their original color. Harry turned to Dumbledore.  
  
"What does 'tapped out' mean?" he whispered, partly so as to not wake Elokin, partly to hide the fact that he didn't know what everyone else did. The old man backed away from the crowd, beckoning Harry to do so as well.  
  
"Tapping out is a phrase used when a wizard fully exhausts all of the magical energy within them. It is very rare to see such a thing, and the mark of great ability," he whispered, but for the former reason, not the latter. Harry nodded, now understanding the moment of awe in the corridor after Elokin had fallen. He looked toward the hospital bed.  
  
"Will she be ok?"  
  
"Oh yes. quite. We do have on staff one of the most accomplished potionmasters around, on who has even mastered the little-bothered-with 'Rebuild' potion, though heaven knows why." Dumbledore said, a privileged smile forming on his face. "But now, I think," he said, his voice resuming its usual volume, "its time we let the girl rest." All four boys were led out by Dumbledore, who halfway down the hall back to the Gryffindor commonroom looked behind him, the smile returning to his face.  
  
. .. .  
  
"Its all clear!" Ron whispered, standing guard at the door to the Gryffindor boys' dormitories (no Gryffindor girls had stayed for the break). Harry sat down in the chair nearest to the fire, which was forming into a face.  
  
"Hello Harry," Sirius said, his face visible in the flickering firelight. "How is everything? And why do you look like you haven't slept in three days?" His voice peaked in concern.  
  
"Its going to sound really strange," Sirius nodded for him to continue, trying his best to hold back a snicker, "Well, two days ago we began a dungeons & dragons game with Elokin, and a troll got in, and a dragon killed the troll, and we couldn't sleep because we were worried about her, and." Harry said, his ramblings getting faster and more incoherent by the second.  
  
"AD&D?!? Man, I haven't played that in years! You guys must have a faerie going to Hogwarts. Dumbledore must be worried.."  
  
"You played AD&D!" Sirius nodded, a grin forming on his fiery face.  
  
"You bet we did! Lily's friend Narnia was sucking down 'Rebuilds' almost every night for awhile," Harry's eyes widened.  
  
"Lily, like my mother Lily?" Sirius nodded.  
  
"Yeah, she and Narn were best friends. Lily used to get so mad at us for playing, but it never hurt anything." Then he stopped, his eyes widening as if he just had a startling realization. "Harry, how old is your faerie friend?"  
  
"She's 15, just like the rest of us. Why?" Sirius was shaking his head, looking fit to kill.  
  
"I can't believe he would do that. And I thought Dumbledore was a decent guy. Just because of stupid Voldemort." The use of "stupid" to describe Voldemort made Harry sit up. Sirius looked into his eyes. "You watch her, Harry. There are plenty of things at Hogwarts that she is best left unaware of. Do you understand?" Harry nodded, though he had no clue what Sirius was talking about. "I have to go now. Send an owl if anything comes up." Harry nodded as Sirius' face was replaced by the random flickering of a real fire. Before Ron could voice Harry's confusion, he raced past him into the dormitories, throwing open his chest and taking out the photo album Hagrid had given him at the end of his first year at Hogwarts. He looked at it almost every night, but had only two years ago first noticed anyone other than his parents; that being Sirius, who he had found in the picture of his father's best men. This time he flipped to his mother's bride's maids where, sure enough, he recognized someone new. A faerie stood at his mother's side, smiling widely and whispering into his mother's ear. She was taller than his mother, with pastel pink hair that shone in the light. She had the same large green eyes Elokin had, which were reflecting the happiness that everyone in the photograph seemed to feel. Curious, he flipped through the wedding pictures, stopping on one. It looked like it was at the reception, during the first dance. The picture centered on Harry's parents, dancing in the center of the room. Off in the corner he spotted Narnia's pink hair. She was dancing with someone as well, her head resting on the mystery man's shoulder, her eyes closed. As the picture moved, the two danced in a small circle, almost to the point where you could see the man's face, but not quite. From the back, he was tall and gaunt, with a ponytail of black hair flowing down his shoulders.  
  
"Ugh! Why can't the bloody thing turn just a quarter of an inch more!" Ron's words echoed how he felt. But not a stranger to Hogwarts, that's what the Sorting Hat had said, and Harry knew how important the Hat's comments could be. Both parents went here.and one of them had been his mother's best friend. Did she know? No, he thought, she couldn't have. She would have said something, he was certain of it. There are plenty of things at Hogwarts that she is best left unaware of.Was this one of those things? Should he tell her?  
  
"Best not say anything, not with what Sirius said," again, Ron seeming to read his mind. He nodded, turning the picture at every possible angle, trying to see the face of Narnia's dancing partner. "Probably doesn't matter," Ron piped up, "I mean, how many of your parents friends do we know? Even if we saw his face, it probably wouldn't even help. We wouldn't even recognize it." Harry nodded.  
  
"But why would Dumbledore ask her to come here? Sirius didn't seem to think it was a good idea,"  
  
"One things for sure," Ron said, the hint of a smile on his lips, "It must be a new year now. We've got another mystery to solve." 


	5. its better when you hold all the cards

You think you know, and you're probably right. So, in the tradition of my favorite big man, Mr. H, let's see you sweat a little.  
  
   
  
1 Part Five  
  
…It was quiet. Warm. Safe. She was in her bed, in that moment when you've woken up just right. The dream was nice but hazy and its contents are as unimportant as everything else. Her eyes fluttered open. She could see the familiar flickering of the fire on the ceiling above her bed. She could feel its heat upon her face. She could hear the other breathing somewhere. It didn't strike her right away that the breathing was a little louder than it should have been, or that it was not the regular pattern of in-and-out, but instead a series of erratic exhalations. She didn't notice when the other moaned at first. But as the breathing grew more erratic and the moaning louder, she tried to lift her head to see what was the matter. She couldn't. The other began to scream. She began to scream. The fire flickered on the ceiling above her bed…  
  
They filled in Hermione on the way to the Hospital Wing, where Elokin had been for the entire second half of the Christmas holiday. Fred and George had begun to camp out there, where they had resumed their usual hunching- over-pieces-of-paper-and-acting-like-we-are-the-only-people-who-matter activities. They got there just as Professor Snape did, holding the rebuild potion as if it were his entry pass. He scowled at them for good measure. As he came in he kicked one of the Weasleys.  
  
"You're in the way," he snapped before they could respond, walking past them to lean over Elokin's bedside. She was asleep, curled into a semi- circle, head sliding off the pillow. Usually he would stand and wait, but with the amount of people currently in the surrounding 30 feet he decided it would be best to leave the potion with Madame Pomfrey. He stepped over the twins again, with another kick and admonition, and went in search for Pomfrey, when he overheard some of Harry's conversation.  
  
"…and a black ponytail. We think he might be her dad,"  
  
"Or just someone she was dancing with," said Hermione, the needed voice of reason, obviously oblivious to Snape's presence just behind her. He busied himself with something that would allow him to stay there.  
  
"I don't know. The way her head was resting on his shoulders," started Ron, "she was giving him the head-rest-of love," Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, and you know so much about that, don't ya?" Ron's face turned a shade of red and he looked away. Harry held in a laugh. Just then all six of the people stationed around Elokin's beside turned.  
  
"Mmmmmmmmmmmm… pie…….," she mumbled, opening her eyes. She was greeted by an extreme close-up of George's face.  
  
"Ello luv!" she jumped, then smiled.  
  
"Hello George!" she said sleepily. George shot a look at Fred.  
  
"I told you! She really can tell us apart! Even when I'm acting like you she knows it's me!" Fred nodded, amazed. Ron looked at Hermione and Harry. He leaned in, his voice a whisper.  
  
"Can you tell when George acts like Fred and Fred like George?" he whispered guiltily. They both shook their heads. This seemed to make him feel a little better and he straightened up. He stepped up to say something to Elokin and was cut off by Professor Snape, who sidestepped in front of him. He thrust out a rebuild potion, which Elokin took from him and drank. Then, looking around at all the other people in the room, he turned to leave.  
  
"Feel free to take points from any students in your way," he said to Nurse Pomfrey, just loud enough for the students to hear.  
  
"Daddy?" He froze, his back to the bed-bound girl and her friends. His right hand began to lose its grip on the empty flask. Then he blinked. He was face-to-face with a male elf. He was about 5' 10", with wavy brown hair and wide brown eyes. And attached to his left arm was Tsukiko. He looked at Professor Snape for a moment, then past him, walking over to Elokin.  
  
"Hey," he said, walking over to her, "I see now why Tsukiko didn't want to leave you alone here," He smiled a big goofy grin and, after some hesitation and a pouting look from Elokin, he bent down, allowing her to ruffle his hair. Tsukiko gave her a hug, and in the process nudged her over. She sat on the bed, leaning forward to whisper in her ear.  
  
"I did!" Elokin said indignantly. "I prepped for days and even took out some of the monmummff," Tsukiko clapped a hand over her mouth, shooting a guilty look at her dad, then a mean look back at Elokin. Before her dad could respond, a human woman walked in, followed quickly by Chris. She carried herself the same way Mrs. Weasley did.  
  
"Maybe you would have fared better had I let you come home," she said thoughtfully, "though I'm sure it's by your own design that you're here." Professor Snape began to edge out of the room. In his haste the flask that had been held so precariously fell out of his right hand and shattered on the tile floor. Everyone looked.  
  
"You!" Mrs. Manebreeze rose to a full height pointing at Professor Snape.  
  
"Well well, it seems quite a crowd has gathered," Dumbledore said thoughtfully from behind Professor Snape, flanked by Madame Pomfrey.  
  
"I told you I wasn't exaggerating!" she whispered. Mrs. Manebreeze shook her finger at him, speechless beyond the one word.  
  
"Its good to see you too, Mrs. Manebreeze, Mr. Hatashinae," he said, smiling knowingly. "If you have some complaint, perhaps you would like to accompany me back to my office to discuss it,"  
  
"It's about time! And don't think you're going to dance around me with your fancy words! That might work with those Ministry boys but I assure you," Mr. Hatashinae came up behind her and took her arm.  
  
"Come, there is some wisdom in patience, especially when the wait is short." She nodded and the three left the Hospital Wing. A few moments later Professor Snape left as well. As if on cue, Madame Pomfrey rose to an impressive (and probably magically enhanced) height.  
  
"I think that's enough excitement for one day. And enough visiting," she nudged the sitting Fred and George with her foot, "for today."  
  
. .. .  
  
Elokin had been released just in time for the first potions class of the year. The now semi-famous as a foursome set of Gryffindors sat at the table nearest the door. Hermione leaned over, opening a notebook.  
  
"I've been studying my potions work over the holiday and I still don't understand," she whispered to Elokin, showing her the notebook filled with notes and tried experiments. "I still can't randomly predict what will change the duration of a potion. I've even memorized the lists of partials and infinitives for all the different categories of potion regents," Elokin's eyes widened as she mentally tabulated just how many different combinations that would be.  
  
"Your reputation for studiousness is certainly well-deserved," she began, "but in this case you're going about it all wrong. Potion creation and dynamics is very complicated and… intuitive. You can't just memorize stuff and do well. It takes…" both Ron and Harry were looking now, both shocked at who was giving the academic advice and who was receiving it. Elokin immediately stopped, giving Hermione a we'll finish this discussion later look.  
  
"If you needed help, you could've asked all of us," Ron said, his pride at doing better in a class overshadowing his common sense for a moment. It was, of course, that moment that Professor Snape chose to sweep into the room, deducting five points from Gryffindor for Ron's comment.  
  
"Over the first half of the semester we altered some of the more notorious potions. In this semester we are going to alter practical ones. We will cover cleaning agents, potions with simple medicinal purposes, developing potions, and the like," At that, both Ron and Harry's ears perked up. They looked at each other.  
  
"Developing potions! Why didn't we think of that before?"  
  
"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear at the beginning of class. I, unlike some of your other teachers, am not lenient at the beginning of a term after a break. Ten points from Mr. Weasley for his second interruption." Neither of the boys was perturbed by this, and both were paying a little more attention.  
  
. .. .  
  
Hermione and Elokin had been in the library all afternoon pouring over their potions notes. Elokin could tell that Hermione wasn't used to having to try this hard to understand something. She had even heard rumors that by this time Hermione was usually deep into studying for her end-of- the-year exams. Hermione looked as if she were close to tears when Chris slapped a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"What are you two doing? Studying?!?" she said in disbelief. "You must be having an awesome affect on her," she said to Hermione. Her expression changed. "What's wrong?"  
  
"They've just started teaching potion dynamics here and everyone's having problems," Elokin said. Hermione smiled a little at her exaggeration. Chris made a face.  
  
"I remember that. Gosh, I remember this," she said, motioning to the table full of books. She sat down. "I didn't get it either. Had to cast a spell on myself just to get through it." Elokin nodded, remembering that particular spell. Then her eyes widened.  
  
"You don't still have a copy of that spell, do ya?" Chris shook her head.  
  
"Nope. And don't need one. All my songs are up here," she said, tapping her head. "But I did write down that other one you've been asking for," she continued, rummaging through her pockets.  
  
"Songs? I thought we were talking about spells?" Hermione said, confused but relieved that it was no longer because of potions.  
  
"She was. Chris is a carmina mage. It means that she does her best magic in song." Hermione nodded, remembering Elokin's description of Ron as an animus mage just after their first potions class. Chris pulled a folded piece of paper from her back pocket, handing it to Elokin.  
  
"It took me forever, so you'd better be grateful," she growled. Elokin held her arms up, then began a series of half-bows.  
  
"I am not worthy!" she began to chant, earning her a smack in the back of the head.  
  
"You're not going to actually sing it though, are you? I mean, you're ok with the songs, but it wouldn't be nearly as potent as if you were to…" Elokin held up a hand.  
  
"I am going to sing it," she said, indignantly. "Besides, I don't want it to be too strong anyway, because it's a spell of control, and I don't want to utter force him into making a decision if he doesn't want to, even if it is the right one." And with that Elokin got up and walked out of the library.  
  
"Control who?" Hermione said, even more confused.  
  
"Nevermind. Ok, now how did that song go?" She thought for a moment. Then her eyes widened. "Oh man, I remember that song! Um, maybe mentioning it was a bad idea. You should try to get it without magic," she said nodding, getting up. Hermione shook her head.  
  
"Please, if you know a way to help, for bloody sakes do it!" Her heated language turned the heads of most of the students in the library. Chris sat back down.  
  
"Its just, this song has a particularly embarrassing side effect," she flinched inadvertently.  
  
"I don't care! Nothing could be worse than getting lower marks than Ron!" Chris smiled and began to nod.  
  
"Ok, ok. But first, I need you to be completely honest with me," Hermione nodded. "You don't have any type of secret crush or guy that you're admiring or anything like that?" Chris watched as her face turned red.  
  
"I most certainly do not!!!" It took all of her willpower to keep from smiling.  
  
"Ok. Just sit back and clear your mind. Think only of the academic trouble you are having. I'm serious, don't think of anything, or anyone else," she struggled to keep a straight face and to fight back a giggle as she began her song.  
  
"Turn around and smell what you don't see. Close your eyes ... it is so clear. Here's the mirror, behind there is a screen. On both ways you can get in. Don't think twice before you listen to your heart. Follow the trace for a new start. What you need and everything you'll feel is just a question of the deal. In the eye of storm you'll see a lonely dove. The experience of survival is the key to the gravity of love," The whole library was entranced and Chris had to consciously stop herself from singings the chorus. Elokin was right. Everyone deserved a choice. After a moment Hermione opened her eyes and sat up into her chair. She mumbled something that sounded like thanks and hurried out of the library.  
  
. .. .  
  
Elokin stood outside the library for just a moment, listening to see if she was being followed. Then, smiling, she strode down the corridor towards the girls' bathroom. She walked in, sitting herself on the sink, looking right at the door. Outside there was an argument of some sort going on, and an angry muffled voice filtered through the door. The door then opened, and Draco Malfoy walked in.  
  
"Those idiots," he muttered under his breath, "leave them alone for two seconds and they turn into whiny babies," He looked up at Elokin, his mouth opening to say something.  
  
"Staring out of his window as the world rushes by, Arthur Robinson closes the glass and replies, "I dream of Ballerinas and I don't know why but I see Cadillac's sailing" He stared at her blankly. She was singing, and for the first time since she had received his letter, she was looking directly into his eyes. "I was born on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, but Maryland and Virginia have faded away, and I keep thinking tomorrow is coming today so I am endlessly waiting." Somewhere there was a faint hum of music, and he wondered if this were some kind of joke, if Potter and his little rat pack were hiding in the other stalls. "And the comet is coming between me and the girl who could make it all clean. Out there in the shadow of the modern machine walks St. Robinson in his Cadillac dream. Carrie's down in her basement all toe shoes and twinned  
  
with the girl in the mirror who spins when she spins. From where you think you'll end up to the state that you're in your reflection approaches and then recedes again," His eyes narrowed. This sounded suspiciously like a muggle song to him. Only muggle songs attempted to tell long, complicated stories with alternating sets of inane repeating paragraphs. He determined that he would not enjoy it. He would not. "And the comet is coming between me and the girl who could make it all clean. Out there in the shadow of the modern machine walks St. Robinson in his Cadillac dream."  
  
Music surrounded him and in that moment all of his inhibitions melted away. He understood Mr. Robinson, expected by everyone around him to be a certain way, to want certain things, things he wasn't sure he wanted. And to long to let them down.  
  
"I have dreamed of a black car that shimmers and drives down the length of the evening to the carnival side. In a house where regret is a carousel ride we are spinning and spinning and spinning and now there's a hole in the ceiling down through which I fell. There's a girl in a basement coming out of her shell. And there are people who will say that they knew me so well. I may not go to heaven. I hope you go to hell." Draco tore out of the bathroom, tears streaming down his face. He pushed past Crabbe and Goyle and took off down the hall.  
  
Elokin hopped off the sink, dusting the back of her robes and wearing a particularly smug expression. She began to walk towards the bathroom door.  
  
"Wait!" She turned and her eyes met with those of a young girl. She was wearing a Hogwarts uniform, but her body shimmered hazily.  
  
"You're a ghost, aren't you?" The girl nodded, eyes fixed on her.  
  
"You look just like her," she said, her voice reflecting the awe in her eyes. Elokin blinked.  
  
"Look like who?" The ghost smiled.  
  
"Narn," Elokin blinked again, but this time her eyes remained wide.  
  
"You, you knew my mother?" The ghost nodded.  
  
"She was nice to me. She talked to me. She was the only one who did," Unperturbed by the ghost's sudden change of mood, Elokin continued her questioning.  
  
"Who are you? How did you know her? What was she like?" Myrtle smiled. She's just like her, she thought to herself.  
  
. .. .  
  
Hermione burst into the Gryffindor common room, which was filled with students. She saw Harry and Ron in a corner, huddled over something. She rushed over to them.  
  
"Ron! I have to talk to you!" She grabbed him by the arm.  
  
"Stop! Gerroff!" he said tugging away, "Don't you see we're in the middle of something here!" Harry looked up.  
  
"Sit down Hermione. I know you aren't doing so well, but we could use all the help we can get," At that her ears perked up. She looked over Ron's shoulders at what the two were huddling over. It was Harry's family photo album. Beside that Harry had his notebook, where he was furiously trying all sorts of computations.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"We're trying to alter the standard picture developing formula so that it sets a longer period of time for the picture's movement," Hermione recognized the picture from Ron and Harry's hurried recap of their winter break on the way to the Hospital wing a few days before. She snatched up the pad.  
  
"I can do this. Ok," she began scribbling formulas and making lists off to the side of infinitives and partials. Then she stopped. She crossed out both the lists, stared at the paper for a moment, then finished the equation.  
  
"That studying must have really paid off!" Ron said, obviously impressed. Harry looked at it thoughtfully.  
  
"All we need now is a place to make the potion," All three looked at each other.  
  
"The only place that would have all the regents we need is," Hermione, who had just realized what she was about to say, dropped the quill, "We can't go in there!!!!! He'll have us kicked out for sure!"  
  
"Well I'd rather risk it! I'd rather be in fear of Snape than doing potions in a haunted girls' restroom!" Ron proclaimed, Harry nodded emphatically beside him. She rolled her eyes.  
  
"You would rather face expulsion than be in Myrtle's bathroom?" They both nodded. "Fine then. But we're doing it tonight. I don't know how long this spe, I mean, this understanding of potions will last."  
  
. .. .  
  
The door to the Potionsmaster's office opened just enough to allow a slender black cat to fit through. The cat ran down the hallway and disappeared in the darkness at the end of the corridor. In his office, Professor Snape bent over on his desk, hurriedly scribbling a note. He folded up the piece of paper, which simply said "thraiki" and handed it to a rather small, sprig of an owl, which immediately flew out the window. He took several jars from his cabinet of regents; one contained a golden liquid, one with cloves, and one a white crystalline substance. He then left his office, hurrying down the hall.  
  
. .. .  
  
Elokin's face was beginning to feel sore. She had been laughing and listening to Myrtle's memories of her mother for what seemed like hours. Her mother had had the faerie sickness as she did. She had been a Gryffindor, like she was. She had even liked quidditch. It was only then that Elokin noticed that the bathroom had darkened. Behind Myrtle, who was recounting a conversation with Narn after a very close quidditch game, the window was open, revealing the darkened night sky.  
  
"I have to go! I'm going to be caught after lights out! And, no offense, but I don't think that talking to you would be a good enough excuse to get me out of detention," she said, opening the door slowly and making sure the coast was clear. "I'll be back to talk to you again sometime soon, I promise," she said, hurrying out.  
  
. .. .  
  
Harry mentally thanked Hagrid again for going to the pains of including the original negatives in his photo album as he watched Hermione hang the full- size picture up to dry. Because of time constraints, they had altered the potion for both movement time and developing time, and they all watched as the photograph developed before their eyes. They watched the scene form before them, with Harry's parents in the middle, and couples dancing all around them. In the far corner was Narnia, dancing slowly with her mystery partner. They turned in what was now a complete circle, revealing the face of…  
  
. .. .  
  
Elokin crept down the corridors, quiet as a mouse in a feat of stealth magnificence (which she would be sure to mention to George and Fred at her first opportunity) . Those were her thoughts as she slammed into a much taller teacher. Or maybe not, she thought, looking up to see that she had run into none other than Dumbledore himself. He had a grin on his face.  
  
"Out for a late-night stroll, Lady of the Swift Feet?" This could be worse. I could have run into Filch and Mrs. Norris.  
  
"I, um, in the bathroom, Myrtle, didn't know, swear?" she blathered, looking hopefully at the amused Headmaster. At that moment they were both distracted.  
  
"SNAPE!!! Snape was mmm my mmm mmding?!?"  
  
"Harry?" Elokin said. She then looked at Dumbledore with a pleading expression. He gave in to his own curiosity, leading her down the hall towards the potions lab.  
  
. .. .  
  
Professor Snape turned the corner quickly to avoid what he thought was Mr. Filtch. He could barely bear to be in that man's presence, moreso because Filtch had somehow convinced himself that the two were friends, or at the very least, united in a common goal. Just thinking about it made him cringe.  
  
"SNAPE!!! Snape was mmm my mmm mmding?!?" His head snapped up. Who was that out of bed. Or, worse, out of bed and in his potions lab. Perhaps he had been to lenient post-winter break. He made a mental note to remedy that during the next days classes as he quickened his pace. Walking headlong for the wood door leading to his classroom, he was nearly bowled over by Dumbledore himself. He looked at him with a reserved gaze.  
  
"Headmaster. I didn't know you would get my message so quickly." He was cut short by another voice.  
  
"Harry!" Elokin managed to find her way through Dumbledore and Snape, walking into the potions lab. "Ron, Hermione? Man, When I told Chris to help you out with potions, I didn't think you would try it out immediately." Harry and Ron stood side-by-side, clutching the incriminating picture behind them. Hermione, however, had no reason to think what they had found should be kept a secret.  
  
"Elokin! You wouldn't believe what we found!" Snape cleared his throat, and Hermione was involuntarily silenced. Snape smiled. Maybe I'm not losing my touch after all, he thought, but just to be safe still planing to take points off in rare form soon enough.  
  
"I didn't know my classroom had become such a…popular spot for after-hours meetings," he said, sneering. Hermione stepped up to him, an uncharacteristic amount of bravery in her eyes.  
  
"How dare you! How dare you stand here like that! How dare you act this way, all year, like you don't know?!?" she said, pointing an accusing finger. Snape took a step back, surprised. Never, in all of his years as faculty at Hogwarts, had he been yelled at by a student. Dumbledore stepped up, holding out an arm.  
  
"Perhaps, my dear, you should explain yourself," he said quietly, looking involuntarily at Elokin. He sighed. It had to come out sooner or later, he thought. I had just been wishing for later.  
  
"He, he," Hermione began, pointing a accusing finger at Snape. "Snape is Elokin's mother!" Everyone one stopped for a moment. Professor Snape grinned slightly.  
  
"I am sure, my dear, that that is not the case," Dumbledore said, looking at Snape out of the corner of his eye. Harry and Ron both grabbed on of Hermione's arms before she could correct her mistake.  
  
"And we should go," Ron said, his voice turning to a whisper, "while Dumbledore is amused enough to maybe keep Snape from killing us." And Dumbledore was, true to Ron's words, quite amused.  
  
"Indeed. I have something I need to discuss with the Professor. I trust you four can find your way back to your dormitories?" They all nodded, hurrying out.  
  
that's it for this one (. Also, I should note that the ellipses and italics don't work at all. Im not English grammar impaired, I swear!!!! And thanks to my reads: iphi, severa, and whoever else you guys brought w/ you (hinthintnudgenudgesyanomore) 


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